What's the point of the Eldritch Knight PrC?

[Remathilis]

Well, Warchanter (bard/fighter), Divine Prankster (bard/cleric), Psionic Theurge (cleric/psion), Enlightened Fist (wizard/monk), Fist of Zuoken (psion/monk), Sacred Fist (cleric/monk).

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

So I give up. Can someone explain to me _why_ this is a PrC I should ever even consider? Bonus feat at level one and then +1 level spellcasting for levels two through nine does not make for an interesting or useful PrC.

Bueller? Bueller?

Ya know, I've wondered this same thing myself. IMO, it's one of the least imaginative PrC's Wizards has cranked out (I like a LOT of what Wizards does, but this one fell flat, I think). I've already decided that if anyone in my campaign were to take this class, I'd alter it so that at least it got another feat every 3rd level or so...either a metamagic or fighter feat.

 

[philreed]

I really need to grab Complete Arcane.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I really need to grab Complete Arcane.

So do I, my friend. So do I.

 

[Silveras]

You know, I *like* the fact that the Eldritch Knight is unemcumbered by flavor. That makes it sooo much easier to re-use it for more than one purpose in my homebrew world. Every time I see a PrC packaged with specific flavor text and an organization, it reinforces the (erroneous) assumption that they are *all* supposed to be that way.

Eldritch Knights, in my world, so far:

The Spellhounds; members (typically Wizards) of the Royal Academy of Magic in the Kingdom of A, they are charged with enforcing the laws regarding arcane magic use. They are arcanists with additional combat training so they can "take down" rogue mages.

The Drachenknights; members (typically Sorcerers) of the elite strike forces of the Empire of M, they make forays deep into enemy territory to disrupt defenses.

Fey Knights: the preferred approach for Fighter/Sorcerer elves in my world.

 

[Saeviomagy]

What IS it with all these EK builds that have fighter 4 or 5??

Fighter 2. Wizard 8. EK 10.

9th level spells. 16 bab (full 4 attacks). 71 hitpoints.

4 attacks. 9th level spells. That's really all you need to know.

How about paladin 2, sorceror 8, EK 10? Shame that you miss the 9th level spells, but mayhaps getting your prime casting stat to all saves is worth it.

Ranger? Barbarian?

Fighter 5/wizard 5/ek 10 is about the worst you can do.

 

[Kesh]

I put together a build for Ranger/Sorcerer/EK/Archmage a while back. I'd love to try that one out.

And, as someone else said, I plan on giving the EK a very specific flavor in my homebrew campaign.

 

[Fedifensor]

What IS it with all these EK builds that have fighter 4 or 5??

What is it with all these builds that assume level 20 characters? Try level 10, and you'll see a big difference.

I will say that any EK build should include 1 level of Spellsword, so you can wear a mithral chain shirt.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I'm a big Eldritch Knight fan. Actually, I like all the spell/melee PrCs, because they give the (usually false) impression that a character can be better with fewer spells and better fighting abilities, even at high level.

Seriously, though; the EK doesn't have much flavor just like the fighter doesn't. It exists to make the fighter/wizard or fighter/sorcerer archtype more usable.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

All EK builds sbould have one level of Runesmith to completely remove ALL ASF. You've got to be a dwarf RAW, though.

A fighter 1/wiz 4 qualifies almost automatically (all armor proficiencies and 8 ranks of armorsmithing), so take your 5th wizard level as Runesmith. You get the casting level, so you can start with EK wearing armour. Combined with the Shielded Casting feat (no AoOs from cast spells when you have a shield ready) and Primitive Spellcaster (+1 caster level for each extra component you add; Runesmith spells are material-only, so a verbal component gets you +1 CL at no extra cost). With Practiced Spellcaster, your Ftr2/Wiz7/Runesmith 1/EK 10 is casting as a wiz 17 with a CL of 21, can wear all armor with no ASF, and casts spells in melee with no AoOs.